Venable-Neslage Galleries

When this painting is hung inside Venables
(whose recognizable characters here--
VENABLES--are, somehow, amiable)

then Venables will be inside itself repeatedly,
endlessly--if you think about it.

Venables is not thinking about it, busy
being the bright-eyed face of a city block.

Faces, and especially eyes, are where we look,
being, we think, faces or putting on faces
(as has been said) to greet the faces we meet.

We are life and overflow with ourselves.
Faces (on people, dogs, buildings, clouds, cars...)
are sponges that sop up the overflow.

Here faceless people pass a building
that is all eyes, lit-up.
When eyes catch our eyes,
we try to "look into them"--

as if we know that eyes are not life,
but windows from behind which life peers.
But eyes are disappointing windows:
You look in and see your own reflection.

Behind THESE eyes (you can see it
from here) are painted canvases
that return your gaze
endlessly.

Dean Blehert

Last Updated: October 6, 2002